- Paperback: 224 pages
- Publisher: Sphere; New edition edition (Aug 1969)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0722129580
- ISBN-13: 978-0722129586
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 1,921,112 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Bigger collections available,
This review is from: The Variable Man (Sphere science fiction) (Paperback)
This contains one Novella - The Variable Man (1953) and four novelettes - Second Variety (1953) , The Minority Report (1956), Autofac (1955) and A World of Talent (1954).
While all worth a read, you can find these more easily in later "Complete Works" editions.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Variable Man - Time, Probability and War,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Variable Man (Sphere science fiction) (Paperback)
Philip K Dick explores the world of Chaos Theory in this short story about future war. Mankind is shoehorned into near space and intent on killing off the other guy to get their share of it. Supercomputers calculate the potential success of each sides' military strategies as they develop newer weapons and battlefields. Into this future is cast the Variable Man - transported by a past nuclear holocaust and his arrival sends the probabilities of each sides success fluctuating wildly - like a butterfly's wings changing the weather from clear to storm in an instant. The Variable Man is a simple person with a talent for repairing broken machines, and the Earth side set him to work on completing a project to deliver the ultimate killing machine - but they dont get what they expected.Dick develops his favourite topics of dark futures and time travel with a flawed hero in a suprisingly entertaining story. We can see Spielberg's, Cameron's or Scott's cameras rolling on this one already....
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
4.3 out of 5 stars (7 customer reviews) 4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Invariably Good Sci-Fi Story,
By Dr. Bojan Tunguz - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Variable Man (Kindle Edition)
In the middle of the twenty-second century Terra (a.k.a. Earth) has expanded its influence throughout the Solar System, but a vast, yet weak, empire rules the rest of the Galaxy. Terrans have been at war with this empire for generations, and have never been in a position to prevail over their adversaries. However, the invention of a new weapon - a faster-than-light bomb - may finally shift the balance of power in their favor. Unfortunately, due to an accident with time-travel, a man form the twentieth century ends up in their midst, and his very existence seems to be the cause of uncertainty for the sophisticated prediction computers on which the Terran military establishment relies in planning of their attack. The visitor from the past is thus the variable man - a man whose very existence undermines brings a lot of indeterminism to the military plans.
This longish story or a short novella is one of the finest examples of PKD's sci-fi writing skills. The story is well developed, although from the vantage point of today's sci-fi there are many loose ends and naïve plot developments. The story has the charm of vintage sci-fi, all with almost laughably simpleminded view of the 22nd century technology (vidphones are poor man's versions of iPhones) and *very* inaccurate presentation of science. If you are looking for a polished and technologically sophisticated story than you will very disappointed. On the other hand, if you are tired of all the predictable and mechanistic stories that you can read today, and enjoy raw, rough, ideas that aim for immediate impact, then you will definitely enjoy "The Variable Man." 1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
engaging,
By Nathaniel E. Conklin - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Variable Man (Kindle Edition)
Reads longer than a simple magazine article length. Better than, "Piper In The Woods".
Great ideas and concepts. My growing collection of Pillip K. Dick novels is one of the best collections to have.
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great Book,
By Mike - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: The Variable Man (Kindle Edition)
For such a short book theres a good bit of details and depth to the story. I love that the variable man is a general fix it man and able to adapt to a new world.
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